To create scores of drawings, pastels, paintings, and sculptures of ballet dancers, Edgar Degas hired young women from the Paris Ballet as his models. They posed in his studio, and based on sketches in charcoal and pastel, such as this, he composed larger finished scenes with groups of figures performing or rehearsing on stage or in an imagined studio space. On the left, the outlines of the model’s shoulders are visible beneath the red shawl, suggesting that Degas instructed his
model to sit in the same position multiple times in various states of dress. His sketches helped him to master anatomy, posture, and light before exploring the
relationship of the body to the clothes. Degas’s notes suggest that this particular model may be Nellie Franklin, a young English dancer then working in Paris. Little is known about Franklin’s biography and career, but it is likely that she was one of many young women from impoverished backgrounds who were apprenticed to the ballet at an early age.

As in Ballet Girl, Degas used blue chalk to indicate shadows in this sketch. These two women were probably also performers at the Paris Ballet, where Degas often found his models. He made quick sketches from life—both at the ballet and in his studio—which he then incorporated into later painted compositions, focusing on specific areas or aspects of their form.

The contrast between the color and finish of the busts of the two women seen here suggests that their shawls might have been Degas’s primary interest, explaining the rough and unfinished rendering of the rest of their bodies.